Southern California -- this just in

An 81-year-old registered sex offender was in custody Sunday after allegedly attempting to entice a 12-year-old girl into his car in the Antelope Valley community of Littlerock.

The suspect, Keith Holmes, a resident of nearby Pearblossom, was arrested by sheriff’s deputies on felony charges of attempted kidnapping of a child under 14 years old. He was being held on $1 million bail.

The girl was walking near Pearblossom Highway and 85th Street at about 10:50 a.m. Saturday, with her parents a short distance away, when the suspect pulled up beside her and asked if she wanted a ride, said Deputy Daryl Bonsall of the Palmdale sheriff’s station. When she declined, he continued to drive slowly beside her. When the girl’s mother confronted the suspect he sped away.

The mother reported the man's description and license plate number to Palmdale sheriff’s deputies, who detained him a short distance away in Pearblossom. Officials said items consistent with the intent to kidnap were found inside the vehicle, but they did not elaborate.

Holmes has been convicted of annoying or molesting a child twice since 2009 and is currently on probation for those offenses.